People in Hungary have been warned to prepare for the worst floods ever as the swelling Danube River is feared to reach record levels over the next three days.

The European Commission ' s Emergency Response Center said on Friday that Europe’s second - largest river will peak in Nagybajcs, near the border with Slovakia, on Saturday morning and in the capital, Budapest, on Monday. “In both areas, the highest - ever - measured water levels are expected, ” the commission said. A state of emergency was declared in the country. Some 10,000 people, including soldiers and volunteers are working together to reinforce dykes along 700km of the river with sandbags.

" We are facing the worst floods of all time, " Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.

The capital is likely to be the worst hit, as the river is expected to rise to, 8.85 meters, some 25 centimeters higher than the previous record set in 2006. About 400 people were evacuated from several villages, according to the Interior Ministry’s report. About 70 communities were also hit by floods. Central Europe's river floods have already killed 15 people, devastated large areas and forced mass evacuations in Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic.